Cellphone IC sales to top PC chip revenue next year

Sales generated from integrated circuits used in cellphones are expected to surpass revenue posted by chips for standard PC use for the first time next year, IC Insights said yesterday.

In a research report, the market information advisory firm said sales recorded by handset chips are estimated to reach US$70.7 billion (NT$2.06 trillion) next year, more than US$65.1 billion registered by standard PC chips.

Sales in 2015 from handset chips could even top revenue made by all types of chips for PCs, which include standard PCs, tablets, convertible hybrid tablets/notebooks and Internet-centric portable products for cloud-computing applications, IC Insights said.

Handset chips are expected to account for 24 percent of the total IC revenue this year and the share is expected to grow to 32 percent in 2016, the firm said.

It said chips used in standard PCs are expected to make up about 25 percent of the total IC sector’s sales this year, but the percentage is likely to fall to slightly less than 20 percent in 2016.

IC Insights said shipments of desktops are estimated to register only a 0.1 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between this year and 2016, while the CAGR for notebook shipments during the same period is expected to stand at 7.4 percent.

Tablet shipments in the period from this year to 2016 are forecast to reach 33.9 percent at an average annual growth rate, while the CAGR for convertible tablet/notebook computers is expected to reach 130.5 percent in the same period, IC Insights said.